Intervenciones en los Dólmenes de Antequera (1840-2020). Una revisión crítica

The Antequera dolmens have been the object of numerous archaeological excavations, restoration work and “urbanisation” projects since the first explorations were carried out at Menga between 1842 and 1847, and at Viera and El Romeral in 1903 and 1904 respectively. Although the main aim of these interventions was to increase the existing knowledge on these prehistoric constructions, improve their state of preservation and make them accessible to the wider public, the truth is that many of them had negative consequences for their conservation and scientific knowledge. In this paper, we attempt a critical valuation of the long history of interventions at the site, based on the analysis of the available documentation, including ‘grey literature’ (planning documents, projects, reports, planimetry and photographs) as well as published material. As a result, we propose a set of criteria that all future activities carried out at the site and its surroundings should meet in order to avoid previous problems, including the deterioration of the monuments themselves and losses to the archaeological record.